Packing list for Cuba and the Caribbean coast
Havana, Cartagena and Cancún: 90°F (32°C) and humid, a storm most afternoons from May to October, and a Cuba where cards are not accepted and the shops have little to sell. Bring medicines and toiletries, a flashlight for the blackouts, cash in euros and repellent.
On a phone with Waystop installed, the button adds the list to your trip as a bag you can tick off. Otherwise copy it and paste it into Waystop’s Chat with “add this to my packing list”.
Checked October 10, 2026.
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0 of 22 packed
What Cuba cannot sell you
0/6Money and paper
0/5Heat, sun and mosquitoes
0/6Plugs, gifts and the bag
0/5What the weather is like
Havana: January highs of about 81°F (27°C) and lows of 66°F (19°C), July and August at 90°F (32°C) and 75°F (24°C), around 1,240 mm of rain a year with the wet season from May to October and September the wettest month at about 175 mm; December to April is dry. Cartagena: 88 to 90°F (31 to 32°C) by day in every month and 75 to 79°F (24 to 26°C) at night, humidity near 80 percent, about 1,070 mm a year falling from May to November with October the wettest at about 240 mm, and a dry season from December to April. Cancún: January 84°F (29°C) and 66°F (19°C), August 93°F (34°C) and 77°F (25°C), about 1,300 mm a year with September and October over 220 mm each, the sea at 79°F (26°C) in winter and 84°F (29°C) in summer. The hurricane season across all three runs June 1 to November 30.
- Your credit cards as a plan for CubaVisa and Mastercard payments in Cuba were suspended on June 6, 2026, and ATMs give only pesos when they work. The plan is cash in euros, counted before you leave.
- Heavy jeans and dark cottonIt is 90°F (32°C) and humid in every month; linen and thin long sleeves do the covering without the heat
- Anything you would mind losing to a blackoutHotel safes and card readers fail with the power; a cheap watch and one phone with a power bank travel better than the expensive kit
- More sunscreen, repellent and snacks in Cartagena or CancúnSupermarkets and pharmacies there are stocked and open late. Carry what Cuba needs on from there.
- A straw hat in CartagenaThe vueltiao hat from the stalls under the old town walls is the right one for the sun and costs little; haggle gently
- Coffee and rum in Havana, with the receiptThe state shops sell both for foreign cash and customs at home wants the receipt; buy on the last day so it does not ride around in the heat
Worth knowing
- Pack Cuba as if nothing can be bought on arrival, because in 2026 that is close to the truth. The US Embassy has warned of significant disruption from power outages and fuel shortages. The trip still works with a flashlight, a water filter, cash in euros and every medicine and toiletry in the bag.
- Order the countries by shopping. If Cartagena or Cancún comes before Havana, buy the sunscreen, repellent, snacks and gifts there; both have large supermarkets and pharmacies open late and everything costs less than at home.
- The dry season from December to April is the time to go: highs around 81 to 88°F (27 to 31°C), little rain and the sea at about 79°F (26°C). The hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 with the busiest weeks from mid-August to mid-October; in those months book with free cancellation and keep the airline's app installed, because a Cuban blackout also takes the hotel wifi down.
Trips to pack this for
Never leave the charger in the hotel again.
Waystop keeps a list for each bag and each person. On the morning you change hotels it walks you through a quick pack-up check, and Chat can suggest items to add when you ask what to bring.